


Somebody Catch My Breath

by superdino (crystalrainwing)



Series: Nothing’s Gonna Scare Us Now [1]
Category: Renegades - Marissa Meyer, The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Gen, He/Him and They/Them Pronouns for Klaus Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves Has PTSD, Non-Binary Klaus Hargreeves, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Other Warnings in Chapter Notes, Sober Klaus Hargreeves, also pls be aware but. they curse Quite A Bit. like ur average high school level, and reads tarot cards, but theyve never really talked to him, except i dont know how tarot cards work so neither does he, hes just like ok time to tell ur fortune :), i literally cant shut up, kind of??, klaus gets more powers, klaus is on His Own Side, no beta we die like ben, so its kind of sketchy, so read them pls, sorry they so long <3, they give him pain meds while hes knocked out
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:21:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26752015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crystalrainwing/pseuds/superdino
Summary: (made for my friend so this is. very self indulgent but if you feel like it you should read it. just for kicks)Klaus is somewhere that’s decidedly NOT the past. Actually, he’s pretty sure that this is a whole other dimension - and only Ben is with him. If only he’d held his siblings’ hands a little tighter...Nova doesn’t - it’s not - she isn’t getting attached to little Four, who acts so much older than he should have to. No, she’s not getting attached.
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & The Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves & Everyone, Klaus Hargreeves & The Hargreeves, Nova Artino | Nightmare & Klaus Hargreeves
Series: Nothing’s Gonna Scare Us Now [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1976722
Comments: 20
Kudos: 63





	1. I'm Inside Out

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wellihaz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wellihaz/gifts).



> haha wow im posting this ig. if for some reason u are reading this but haven't read the books i will give you a quick rundown.  
> in this world there's superheroes, called prodigies. they can join the renegades who are like crime fighters if their powers are neat. there was a like big war thing whiere the city was kind of ruled by various super-powered crimanal gangs but the renegades like?? killed them or something. anyways the biggest one was the anarchists and the remaining few members live in a depressing subway - including nova, who is 15 at the start of this fic and didn't actually fight. her uncle was the leader of the anarchists. her powers are making people sleep and she doesn't sleep.

Nova backed up until her back hit the alleyway wall.  _ Shit, shit, shit.  _

“There’s nowhere for you to run, Nightmare,” Red Assassin called, advancing on her with a sharp, red knife in her hand. 

Nova bared her teeth, though of course they couldn’t see that. “That’s what you think.” 

She didn’t, in fact, have anywhere to run. Her mind racing, she reached for her last throwing star and hurled it with deadly precision at Smokescreen, who barely jumped out of the way in time. It might’ve nicked his arm.

“Don’t fight, and we won’t have to hurt you,” Red Assassin said, sounding frustrated. 

“Like you could hurt me,” Nova said sarcastically. Really, though, this was a terrible situation. Three-on-one would be fine odds, if she weren’t trapped and running out of weapons. 

Monarch disappeared in a burst of wings and flew towards Nova, who snarled and crushed one of the butterflies. The girl reformed, crying out and clutching one of her fingers.    
Nova smirked. 

There was a flash, a thunderclap, and suddenly, a tear in the sky. Nova blinked.  _ What? _

It was still there. 

She could see what looked like - a kid, maybe, through it. In the  _ sky.  _ The kid fell through, hitting the ground with a sickening crack. 

Nova wasn’t one to waste opportunities, and she grabbed the kid and held a short knife to his throat. 

“Let me go, or I kill him.” 

She could feel him shaking under in her grip, terrified. He swallowed, and she could feel it against her blade. 

“Wow, Ben, out of the fire and into the frying pan, huh? Also, lady, how do you know I’m a  _ he?  _ I could be a they! I could be a she! God, what is wrong with people these days?” He - (they? Just to be safe) giggled nervously, and swallowed again. 

The Renegades had stopped now, tension in their postures. “You won’t hurt h-, uh, them if we…” Red Assassin swallowed uncomfortably, “walk away?”

Nova nodded, holding the kid tighter. “Let me past you, and they’ll be fine.”

The three looked at each other for a moment, before Smokescreen nodded and they all stepped to the side. Nova could feel their eyes on her as she walked past them, the kid stumbling along with her. 

“Kidnapped a-fucking-gain, Ben, Five just keeps causing problems! And look at this, my clothes are way too fucking big to be walking in!” the kid said, and when Nova looked down she saw that they were right, their clothes were too long and they kept stumbling over - were those  _ leather pants?  _ What did they mean by five, five of what, and who the  _ fuck  _ was Ben? There was no one else here. 

And, wait, had they said  _ again?  _ Nova felt sick. She didn’t mean to hurt the kid, but it sounded like someone else had. 

“You’re  _ right,  _ but you don’t have to be so  _ mean  _ about it.”

Nova had kidnapped a kid. A kid with, probably, some kind of mental - something. That made her feel even worse. 

Ok. Ok. 

“Okay, kid, where do you live?” she said roughly, hoping she could just… forget about this whole thing. 

The kid started laughing, laughing  _ hard.  _ It was creepy. 

“Do you know anything about the Umbrella Academy?”

“Uh, no. What’s that have to do with anything?”

The kid started wheezing, and for a moment Nova panicked, before realizing that it was just their laugh again. “God, Five really fucked this up. Remind me to tell him. What did he even  _ do?  _ Hey, what year is it?”

Nova told them. She didn’t feel like thinking about why they’d ask that. “But, seriously, where do you live? Can you find your way home from here?”

“Wait, you’re not gonna kill me?”

Nova felt cold wash over her whole body at their words. “God, no! Of course not!”

“Not God, actually.”

Nova wasn’t sure whether she should laugh or cry. They thought they were going to die, and here they were, making jokes. 

She let go of them, and they walked a little ways away. “Okay, I’m just. I’m going to drop you off here, okay, kid?” 

They looked over at empty space and said solemnly, “Do you think this is how Five feels?” before bursting out with laughter. Then, their face suddenly became serious again. “Fuck, you’re right. Hey, scary lady, did anyone else come out of the portal-thing? Like, maybe, I don’t know, a tall blond kid or an angry-looking kid with knives or a  _ really  _ pretty fancy looking girl or a murderous kid or a girl in a white suit?”

What. “What?”

“Yeah, did they come out of the portal? I didn’t see.”

“No.”

“Fuck.”

“Is that bad?”   
They sat down on the ground, fingers curled in their dark hair. They let out a sharp laugh. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s bad. Fucking… let go, sorry to drag you into this, Ben.”

“Who’s Ben?”

“My brother.” A pause. “He’s dead.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Sucks, cause he can’t eat waffles now.”

“Oh.”

They stood up again, their smile shaky. “I think you owe me, d’you know anywhere I could get some waffles? Or some fucking, like, drugs. Either works.”

How was she supposed to respond to that? They didn’t have any waffles back in the subway, nor money to get some, and she sure wasn’t giving the kid drug money. They barely looked 12. 

They looked like they were arguing with so-called Ben, but she couldn’t catch much of their words. 

“Ok! Ok! Fine, Ben. Hey, scary lady, how about you fix my arm instead? Think I broke it when I fell from Five’s portal.”

Oh. So that’s what the cracking sound had been. Why weren’t they freaking out? That had to hurt like hell. “Yeah. Why aren’t you running away, though? I literally threatened to kill you.”

They smiled at her, sharp and feral now. “I knew you wouldn’t. Besides, even with a broken arm, I could kill you before you killed me.”

_ Oh.  _ A prodigy? “Are you a prodigy?”

They gave her a weird look. “No? I can’t, like, play piano or do math or shit. That’s, like, Five and Vanya. Well, Vanya plays violin, but close enough.”

Nova narrowed her eyes at them. “I meant, do you have powers, smartass.”

They startled. “What the fuck. Why would… how…?”

“That’s a regular question. Answer it.”

“Yeah, I guess. They’re not really useful for combat, though. Seeing the dead doesn’t translate great to killing people.”

Oh.  _ Oh.  _ That’s why they said they could see their brother. It was their power. “Oh, okay.”

“Now, can you please fix my arm? Hurts like a bitch.”

They stuck out their right arm, and Nova had to fight to keep from gagging. Their arm was visibly crooked, and no matter how much death Nova had seen, she hated it still. How were they not screaming in pain, or passed out?

“Uh, let’s get you… somewhere better. I’m gonna have to blindfold you, though. Can’t have you giving away our secrets.”

They giggled nervously. “No, actually, that’s alright. I’ll be fine, on second thought.” They started to walk away, and Nova couldn’t just let them walk around with their arm like  _ that.  _

“Sorry, kid. Can’t let you run around with your arm all messed up.” Before they could react, she’d grabbed their (uninjured) arm and put them to sleep. They fell like a sack of bricks, and Nova barely caught them in time. They were… so light, too, felt like they hadn’t had a decent meal in days.

The trip back to base wasn’t too hard, really. Just annoying. The kid  _ was _ light, but they were tall and bony. Nova struggled to keep from dropping them like a bag of sticks. Eventually, though, she made it back and set them gently on the ground. 

Ingrid walked in, casually letting tiny puffs of blue energy form and dissipate in her hands. “Hey, Nova, I see you’re - who is that?”

Nova huffed, her knees popping as she stood up. “Accidentally kidnapped this kid. Their arm’s broken, thought I owed it to them to fix it.”

“How do you  _ accidentally -  _ actually, nevermind, I don’t think I want to know.” Ingrid said. “How bad’s the break?”

Nova winced. “Bad. Take a look.” She grabbed their arm and held it up higher so Ingrid could see. 

“What the fuck? Don’t touch it. Keep it on the ground, or something. I’ll go find some bandages.” Ingrid rushed off into some other part of the base, probably their sort-of-storage-room. Nova set down the kid’s arm. She should probably ask their name, when they woke up - which wouldn’t be for a while, her powers usually took at least a couple hours to wear off. It’d really hurt when they did, though… 

Maybe Leroy had some painkilling drug for the kid. Nova walked over to his train car, knocking gently. Like always, he called out “Enter at your own risk,” and Nova smiled at the familiarity. 

“Hey, so we’ve got a kid out here with a broken arm, think you could get them some painkillers or something?”   
Leroy opened the black-painted door, and if he’d still had eyebrows Nova thought he’d be raising them. “How’d you pick up a kid?”

Nova huffed at him. “Doesn’t matter, do you have something or no?”

Leroy walked to the back of the train car, saying absently, “Yeah, of course I do.” He pulled something off the shelf and handed it to her, and Nova took it cautiously. “Just have them drink this.”   
Nova hissed in a breath. “Yeah, actually, they’re… unconcious, and it may or may not be from my powers.”

Leroy looked unimpressed. “Nice one, Nova. Just sit them up and dribble it in their mouth, then, I suppose. Hopefully they won’t choke.”

“Hope -  _ hopefully?  _ Leroy, what the fuck!”

He just laughed and closed the door in her face. Nova dragged her free hand down her face before walking past Winston’s tent into the main open area. The kid was lying there, still -  _ of course, where else would they be -  _ but Ingrid was crouched next to them now, holding some bandages and a sort of splint looking thing, and nervously looking at the crooked limb lying next to the kid. “Hope they’re not right-handed.”

Nova crouched next to her. “Yeah, me too. Should we move them to, I don’t know, somewhere more… sanitary? Or comfortable, at least? Do we still have that old mattress in the clean-ish train car?”

Ingrid shifted her feet and nodded. “Yeah.” She turned more towards Nova and her eyes flicked to the the small vial in her hand, then back up to Nova’s face. “From Leroy? Is it painkillers? Should we give that to them before we move them?”

Nova sighed and nodded. “We need to sit them up and then just, pour it in their mouth, I guess. Leroy said they probably won’t choke.”

“ _ Probably?” _

“No one here is a doctor, Ingrid. What else are we supposed to do?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe  _ not kidnap kids?  _ Are they gonna have parents after them, by the way? Are you risking this whole thing on some  _ random-ass kid?” _

Nova swallowed. “I don’t… think so? Didn’t give off that impression, at least.”

Ingrid sighed. “Well, in that case, only you should talk to them, and only with your mask on.” She grabbed the mask from where Nova had tossed it and handed it to her. Nova took it with a groan. 

“Alright, fine. Help me carry them.”

They gave them the medicine first, and luckily they didn’t choke. She and Ingrid were able to get them to the mattress with a minimum of bumping into things, and without jostling their arm much at all. Nova pulled a crate over to sit on and grabbed a book that was on the floor. 

Ingrid raised an eyebrow at her. 

“What? This is my fault, and I don’t want them to be scared when they wake up!”

“Oh. Yeah. Seeing the face of your kidnapper, with a mask on, will sure put them at ease.” 

Nova’s face burned, though with her mask now on Ingrid couldn’t see her. “Shut up and help me splint their arm. You grabbed the bandages, right?”

“No, I was kind of busy carrying a  _ child.  _ I’ll go get them.”

Nova sat down and looked closer at the kid. Their hair was dark and curly, and they were wearing a too-big striped shirt and jacket-thing with the sleeves cut off, as well as tight but too-long leather pants with laced up slits on the sides. Weird clothes for a kid, but they’d fallen from the sky; maybe they hadn’t had time to get dressed or something, or had just grabbed the clothes nearest them. They looked tired, and their face kept twitching. 

Ingrid came back in with the bandages and splint-thing and pushed Nova over so she could sit on the crate as well. “Hey,” Nova grumbled slightly, shoving her over slightly. Ingrid laughed a little.

“Do you know how to set a bone?” Ingrid said.

“No, do you?”

“Kind of.”

Ingrid told Nova what to do (though she was doing most of the work), and in the end the kid had their arm all set and wrapped with only  _ slightly  _ dirty bandages. They hadn’t even whimpered, so Nova assumed the painkillers must work pretty well.

Ingrid left, and Nova scooted back onto the chair with her book. After some amount of time that might have been a half hour or might have been an hour and a half, the kid shifted. At first, she thought they must be waking up, but quickly realized they were having a nightmare. 

“No, no, no, please, don’t, I can’t… no, no.”

Nova wasn’t sure what to do, and she was pretty sure that her powers hadn’t worn off completely, so they wouldn’t wake up anyways. There was nothing she could do until they woke up, so she went back to reading and blocked out their steadily-louder cries.

Finally, they sat up suddenly, clutching their hands close to their chest as if trying to hold something. Their face shone with sweat and tears in the dim light, and their eyes were red from crying. Nova’s heart twisted in her chest; they looked much too close to how she had felt when she woke in her sleep, calling for Evie.

“Good, you’re awake.”

They turned sharply towards her, looking shocked and confused - which, fair enough, really. They tilted their head as if listening to someone, then looked at her again. “So. Nova, huh? And you can, what, put people to sleep?”

_ “What?  _ How did you - what?” Nova was short-circuiting. How had he known her name? No one, outside the Anarchists, knew who she really was. 

The kid rolled their eyes. “Uh, Ben told me, duh. Can’t hide anything from me.” He wiggled his fingers, and she noticed he had  _ HELLO  _ tattooed there. Who lets a kid get a tattoo? What the hell?

But there wasn’t time to unpack that now. The kid knew - everything, maybe. Knew that she was part of the Anarchists, at least. They hadn’t panicked, though, didn’t even seem worried.  _ I could kill you before you killed me,  _ they’d said, but also that their abilities weren’t useful in combat. How, then? It made Nova nervous in a way that she hardly ever felt. 

“Why aren’t you freaking out, then? Now that you know that you’re - with the Anarchists?”

Their eyes darted to an empty corner - no, probably where Ben was. “Uh, what does that mean? Should that mean something? Benny-boy, what is she talking about?” They gestured with their hands a lot as they talked. 

“Did you hit your head? The  _ Anarchists,  _ dumbass, the most famous supervillains ever?” She wasn’t trying to be rude,  _ really,  _ she was just shocked, but they didn’t even react to her sharp words. 

Instead they rubbed their face with their hands. “Christ. Uh, let’s just… say I was, um, homeschooled? Lost my memory? Doesn’t matter why, but I know nothing about, like, local politics or… world history, or anything. Care to give me a rundown?” They grinned, then, and it made her feel… uneasy, that they didn’t know  _ anything  _ but also knew  _ too much.  _ Did they even - 

“Do you remember your name?”

They flicked their eyes to the corner for a moment, seeming to have a silent debate before saying, “Four. My name is Number Four. Nice to meet you, Nova.”


	2. The Ghost of You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus finds new abilities.  
> Nova gets to know Four during his two months in the subway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello I don’t remember what I wrote anymore and I refuse to reread it have fun w this train wreck of a chapter :)  
> can’t think of any warnings except klaus has a nightmare??

Four stayed with them for two months (until his arm healed, and not a day after). After explaining that he didn’t want to elaborate on  _ why  _ his name was Four, he also told her that he was non-binary, and he used he and they pronouns. (He didn’t, however, like gendered labels - preferring gender-neutral terms.) He really seemed to appreciate her calling him  _ they  _ until she found out for sure he used he, which made Nova wonder who he’d been with before. 

He told her that his powers felt more focused, now, and he knew how to use them properly, which only made her wonder  _ more  _ where he’d come from. 

He kept mentioning people - Luther, Diego, Allison, Five, and Vanya, and of course talking to Ben. When she asked, he said they were his siblings, but he refused to say anything more about them. 

Three days in, he found her in the middle of the night with a huge grin on his face. 

“Nova! Nooooova! Didn’t you want to meet Ben?” Without waiting for an answer, he closed his eyes and seemed to concentrate for a moment before his hands began to glow blue, and a boy colored the same shade of blue appeared in front of her. He looked at her for a minute, then smiled. 

“Thanks for taking care of him. This dumbass would have tried to fix his arm with no splints, or anything.”   
Four swatted his brother’s arm. “Beeeen! You’re mean!”

Ben raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m right.”

Four pouted, but didn’t argue. 

“I’m, uh, happy to help. It was kinda my fault in the first place. Sorry, by the way, for threatening to kill you.”

Four waved a hand at her. “No biggie. I think you’re the first one who hasn’t meant it, at least.”

“What?”

“Yeah, yeah, lots of people don’t like me too much. Stole their drugs, or their money, or just talked too much. Guess I’m here now, though, so it’s a fresh start!” He grinned and bounced on his toes.

Ben rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you’ll probably piss off just as many people here as back there.” 

Nova figured they would probably avoid any questions she asked about that, so she went for something a little safer. “Where’d you guys come from, then, anyways?”

Four became serious instantly, and Ben did too. “Somewhere… not so nice. It’s not important, can’t go back now!” He grinned, but it looked forced. 

“Are… your siblings still there?”

Four shook his head, and his smile became a little more real. “No, they’re safe now. They’ll be fine without me, anyway, I just slowed them down.”

And that was another thing. Four always seemed to think he was useless. Specifically useless. He was always joking about being  _ useless Number Four, useless Séance, useless junkie.  _ He’d explained he was five days sober, and she shouldn’t let him out of her sight because he finally had control of his powers,  _ could finally push the ghosts away,  _ he’d said, and she didn’t really want to ask. 

He also said that he didn’t want shoes anymore, refused to put them on, even though his feet were cut up and painful. 

The best thing to do when he got like this was change the subject. “Do you not  _ sleep?  _ You’re always here in the middle of the night.”

He waved his  _ GOODBYE  _ hand dismissively. “I don’t need much. Couple of hours like, every other night. Besides, you need a friend!”

“Yeah, what would I do if it were quiet.”

Ben laughed. “Yeah, you think it’s loud after three days. I’ve been with him for - how long, now?”

“I think - actually, I’m not sure? The briefcase kinda -” he made a wide  _ poof _ ing gesture with his hands - “messed with the time. Plus the drugs. Can’t really remember the past few years.”

“Fair enough. Since I died, anyways, which was like, hmm, 7 years ago?” He gave Four a look which Nova didn’t know Ben well enough to interpret.

“How do you look the same age as Four, then? And what’s the, uh, briefcase?”

Four suddenly looked… shifty and awkward. “Well, we’re pretty sure he aged up on his own for some reason… probably ‘cause of my powers. And the briefcase is… a long story.” He cleared his throat a couple times, and Nova dropped it.

There were a lot of things she couldn’t ask about, with Four, but that was okay. His secrets were his, and she wasn’t entitled to them. 

“That’s nice, then. At least you guys stay the same age. Wait, are you twins?”

The two glanced at each other. This time, Ben spoke. “Not… really? We were all born on the same day, but none of us are  _ actually  _ related.”

“How many siblings do you guys have? I’ve counted, like, a lot.”

Four snorted. “Yeah, we’ve got 5. There’s Luther, that’s One, Diego is Two, Allison’s Three, I’m Four, obviously, then there’s Five, Ben is Six, and Vanya’s Seven.”

“How come you and Five don’t have other names?” This - could be dangerous territory, if it was she wouldn’t push it. Nova was pretty sure that if she did, he’d disappear like a stray cat. 

“Oh, I’m pretty sure he didn’t want one. That, or he didn’t get one before he left. Ben, did he want a name? I can’t remember.”

“No, I think he did, but he left before he could decide.”

“That sounds right. Anyway, I didn’t get one ‘cause I’m the family disappointment! Even more than Vanya, anyway.” He grinned, but she could see hurt flash behind his eyes. 

“Well, they didn’t know what they were missing out on. You’re the most interesting kid I’ve ever met.”

Four’s smile became more genuine, and he started running towards her - “Don’t knock me over!” - and jumped, clinging to her in a hug like a spider. He was so  _ touchy,  _ all the time, and though usually Nova wouldn’t let anyone hug her or touch her so much, after she’d heard why - 

_ Trying to make sure you aren’t dead, sorry, I can stop if you want… _

\- Nova was okay with it. 

Ingrid had teased her, and Nova had knocked her out for a few hours. Ingrid didn’t say anything about it after that. 

“Thanks, Nova,” he mumbled, and Ben watched with a small smile. Four let go suddenly, making Nova stumble, and his eyes were bright with excitement. “Wait! I have something to show you!”

He ran out, and Nova was left with a mostly-stranger, waiting for someone who wasn’t quite a stranger anymore. 

“Thanks. For being nice to him.” Ben swallowed uncomfortably, shifted his feet. “Not that many people…”

He doesn’t finish his sentence, but Nova is pretty sure she understands. A hot surge of anger rises in her, making her chest hurt a little. “Of course. He, uh, he deserves it.”

They’re so young. They shouldn’t have to thank her for being  _ nice,  _ for giving the kid a hug and hanging out with him and giving him a light when he’d awkwardly told her that he doesn’t like the dark. She keeps forgetting that - that they’re twelve, according to Four. Or, well, he’d actually said “younger than 13,” but that was pretty much twelve.

Four bounded back into the room, skidding on some broken rocks and almost falling. He caught himself, barely, not needing to use his hands. His broken arm didn’t seem to hinder him much, even though it kept him from bending his elbow or using that hand. Lucky for him, he was left-handed. 

He was holding a pack of - some kind of cards, it looked like. They looked thick, thicker than playing cards, anyways, and colorful. 

“Found ‘em in my pocket! I think the little girl sent them, huh, Ben?” He grinned and held out the cards for her to take. She did, and started thumbing through them. They were made of something weird, didn’t feel like paper, and the pictures looked hand-painted in rich colors with intricate detail.

Ben had replied, but she hadn’t heard him. “Are these those, um, fortune-telling type of cards?”

“Yeah, I think so! They’re called - tarot cards, I think. Except these ones are some kind of magical, because the pictures keep changing. I don’t know how to use tarot cards, or  _ wait,  _ is it read them? Doesn’t matter. But anyways, I’m pretty sure these - they just tell me. I can put out the cards, like three of them, past-present-future and they tell me stuff. I don’t think they’re even written in English!” Four said, his face bright with excitement as he bounced on the balls of his feet. 

Nova took a moment to process that before responding. “They’re really pretty. What do you mean the pictures are changing?” She looked again, and saw that he was right and the cards  _ weren’t  _ written in English, or any language she knew. 

“I mean they’re changing. The pictures - and the words, they change. All sorts of stuff. Here, let me do it for you. Sit down.” He sat down, but Nova stayed standing. 

“The floor is - it’s kinda gross.”

He huffed at her, looking up. “Come  _ on,  _ it’s not like anywhere in this godforsaken place is clean.”

Ben’s voice came from behind her as she sat down. “It’s pretty dirty, but it’s not  _ gross,  _ really. You should’ve seen some of the alleys Four slept in before.”

Nova swallowed, but she didn’t ask. She was pretty sure that Four had been homeless before, but he got squirrely when she mentioned it so she usually just tried to act normal. “Yeah, yeah, I’m picky or whatever. Read my fortune, ghost kid.”

Four laughed and laid three cards on the ground in front of her. One was a picture of a girl, one eye white and the other brown, wearing what looked like a suit that was black on the brown-eyed half and white on the other. 

The second was a book with the number 7 and a knife through it, pinned to - looked like a wall, maybe a table. 

The third was a two men with curly hair, reversed like mirror images - the darker-haired one was crying but smiling, covered in blood and with smudged eyeliner, and the paler-haired man had dog tags and smiled with his eyes crinkled, looking kind. 

The words at the bottom of each were swirly and made her head hurt.

Four swallowed, touching the cards gently. “Ok, so the past - it just says ‘Family,’ but what it means is a family secret, one that could have terrible consequences. The present - vengeance. You’re looking for revenge, you’re angry and bitter - they’re trying to tell you that it’s not actually useful, I think. The last one… uh…” He had a really weird expression, looking at the third card. “It’s labeled ‘Perspective,’ so I think it means you’ll meet someone who changes the way you see the world.”

Nova opened her mouth, then closed it. That had hit way too close to home. Luckily, Four spoke again and she didn’t have to reply.

“Ah, wait, the present one is shifting - here, look.” She did. It was different now. So they really did change - weird. 

It showed, now, what looked like a blond boy crying and holding a blood-splattered book. Standing behind him was a dark figure with no real features - just a silhouette.

Four’s expression was even stranger now. “It says… blame. You blame yourself for something that wasn’t your fault, and you need to realize that.”

Somehow, it felt like he wasn’t talking to her. 

***

It was two weeks in when Four discovered another new power.

He’d been trying to climb one of the shelves to get a box of instant rice, already a bad idea with a broken arm, when he’d startled at something Nova couldn’t see and the tall metal shelf tipped -

and - 

fell -

and then it didn’t. Four clung to it for a moment before jumping down; the rocks probably wouldn’t cut his feet now that he’d developed thick callouses. 

The shelf stayed suspended.

Four held up his hands in her direction, panic in his expression - his palms were glowing blue (what she could see of the right one, anyway).

“I don’t know how I’m doing it! How do I make sure it doesn’t fall?”

“Why are you asking me? Just - make it go up!”

Four laughed hysterically for a moment, tucking his hands against his stomach. “Oh! Man, wish I’d thought of that!”

“Try - try thinking of it going up! I don’t know!”

He clenched his left fist for a moment and closed his eyes, the blue getting brighter and steam - no - cold fog began to drift up from both hands, and the shelf went back upright.

Four opened his eyes with a gasp for air, the blue fading and the shelf settling with a gravely crackle. “Shit, that was cool!”

Nova laughed. “Yeah, as long as you don’t start throwing me around the room!”

Four snorted. “As if. That’s more Luther’s thing, only people I’ll be throwing is fucking Hazel and Cha-Cha. God, they suck.”

Nova felt her curiosity about Four’s life welling up in her again, but she pushed it down and just asked the obvious question - “Who’re they?”

Four waved a hand, but she could see how tense he was. “Some assassin assholes who kidnapped me and locked me in a fucking closet. Rude, I’ve been out of it for so long.” He grinned at his joke, but Nova felt like she’d been punched. 

“Why?”

For a moment, she felt his eyes on her, trying to figure out how much to say probably. He did that a lot. “Wanted to know what Five was up to. He was - acting really weird, before we left, and those idiots thought that someone would’ve told me what was going on. Well, they did, but not until  _ after.  _ Guess that was good in the end, couldn’t have me spilling secrets.”

Nova had a feeling that wasn’t the whole story, but pressing would only make him shut down, so instead she offered a sincere “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright, I’m totally over it now. Not totally. Mostly. I’m mostly over it now.” He gave her a halfhearted smile, and Nova felt her heart twist again with protectiveness and anger that no one had protected this wonderful kid before.

She walked over to where he stood, hands still against his stomach, and stopped a couple feet away. “Can I give you a hug?”

He nodded, and she reached out to hold him close. “It’s going to be okay. No one will hurt you again.”

She felt his breath, always so cold, move her hair. He didn’t say anything.

***

After another three weeks, Four found another ability.

This one made him panic at first. 

This time, it was night - Nova was the only one awake, and she was reading nearby. His train car had the best lighting, and when she sat near the opening she got plenty of light to read. 

She heard him start to talk - a lot louder than his usual nightmares (and sue her if she helped him get ahold of his breath sometimes, if she hugged him and told him it was okay after a nightmare, he needed it and it didn’t make her -  _ soft,  _ or something), and stood up to help. 

When she got in, he was floating a couple feet above the bed.

Four was - floating, above the mattress. 

“Please, I’m not scared, please let me out! Please, please, don’t leave - no, please, I’ll be good!” His words devolved from there into screams and sobs, occasionally a  _ please  _ or  _ no,  _ and Nova was helpless to do anything for him. She knew not to touch him during his nightmares after an incident that had ended with him apologizing and her with a  _ huge  _ bruise. 

Not that she would’ve been able to really shake him awake, anyway, he was  _ floating,  _ after all. 

Finally, finally, he woke up with a shuddering gasp, reaching down by his legs (probably for a blanket). He quickly realized that there was no bed under him.

“What the fuck! What the fuck is happening! Ben, I am not on the ground!” He paused for a minute, probably waiting for Ben to respond - no, listening to him talk. It was weird, not being able to hear him. “No. No fucking way, I cannot fly Ben, noooo.” He shook his finger at the empty corner.

“Pretty sure you can.”

He turned in the air, looking startled. “Nova! Hey! Good to see you! Can you get me the fuck down?”

Nova stifled a laugh. “I can try.” She grabbed his ankle and pulled down but nothing happened. “I can’t get you the fuck down, sorry.”

Four laughed a little, too. “Uh. I guess I’ll try what I do with the - floaty stuff thing?” He gestured to the stuff around him, which Nova wasn’t sure how it connected to his telekinesis ability but whatever.

He closed his eyes for a minute and slowly - 

drifted - 

down - 

to the bed.

He let out a breath, and so did Nova. He was sitting now, so she pulled over a crate to sit on and talk with him.

“Well, that’s a cool power.”

“Yeah, you can - fly now? Or just float?”

“Definitely float. It was almost like there was something solid under me. Not the same as flying, I don’t think.”

“Yeah, it would’ve been a hell of a lot weirder if you just sprouted wings.”

Four grinned. “Still not the weirdest thing to happen to me.”

“Ok, I’ll bite, what was the weirdest thing to happen to me?”

He tapped his chin with one finger, pulling a weird face. “This year? Probably… driving an ice cream truck with Diego, who’d just been shot, to save Luther and Five from the assassins who kidnapped me, and then Five disappeared off the face of the Earth for like, a day.” He still looked thoughtful, and he kept talking. “Might’ve been Vanya’s concert.” He didn’t elaborate. Nova didn’t want to ask. 

“Hey, Nova?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I get a cat?”

“I don’t control you, do whatever you want.”

Four’s smile was worth the possible new addition to their home.

***

It was a week later when Four came zipping home (he floated everywhere now) with his arms full of cans and a tiny, black-and-orange kitten clinging to his neck. 

Nova and Ingrid both looked up, and Ingrid squealed ( _ squealed?  _ She was a grown woman, even Nova had more dignity than that) and clapped her hands excitedly. Nova had  _ never  _ seen her act like this, it was a little unnerving, honestly. 

“Is that a cat? Can I hold it?”

Four smiled at her and drifted down gently, setting down the cans - Nova could see that they were mostly cat food, now - and grabbing the kitten gently. It hissed at him and scratched at his neck, but didn’t actually try to get away.

“Yep! Isn’t she pretty?”

Ingrid reached out her hands and Four set the tiny cat in her hands. It immediately bit her thumb. “She’s  _ gorgeous,  _ Four,” Ingrid breathed, and Nova had to fight to keep from laughing. It was so -  _ so  _ ridiculous to see Ingrid acting like this. “Where’d you find her?”

Four kept talking as he moved all the cans to the shelves, deft and quick even though he could only use his left hand. “I’ve been feeding her for a few days, she comes back to the same spot every time. I think she likes me.”

“It  _ scratched  _ you, though,” Nova said, concerned. 

“Yeah, but I think she likes me,” Four replied, not looking at her but instead at the tiny cat Ingrid was holding close to her chest. “Aren’t you a cutie, yes you are!” he cooed at the cat, which stopped biting Ingrid long enough to hiss at him. 

“I don’t think it likes you.”

He whirled at her, an exaggeratedly offended expression on his face. “Nova! How could you! Of course she loves me!”

Nova rolled her eyes and went back to reading. She could hear them talking and moving around, but didn’t pay any attention. A while later, a thought occurred to her. 

“Four, did you  _ steal  _ all that cat food?”

He paused and turned to her with a guilty expression. “Would you believe me if I said no?”

Nova pinched the bridge of her nose. “Dude, you can’t just go around stealing shit. You’ll get us arrested.”

“I will not! I’ll take the blame. Plus, I lost anyone who’d be chasing us. Don’t worry,” he held up his hands to stop her interrupting, “I didn’t use my powers in front of them. I’m just very fast and very good at hiding.”

Nova let out a breath, slowly.  _ Lord help me.  _ “Don’t do it again.”

He gave her a salute. “Yes, ma’am.”

Nova smiled at him. “So what’s the cat’s name?”

He brightened. “I decided to name her Five, like my brother! They’re both tiny and murderous, but full of love deep,  _ deep  _ down.”

Nova smiled a little more. “Cute. I like it.”

***

Two weeks later, Four’s cast came off. He flexed his hands and called her his favourite sister, and Nova didn’t think he even realized he’d said it. 

She didn’t mention it to him, but kept those words close to her heart. She might have failed Evie, but she won’t fail Four. 

The next morning, he was gone, along with all the cat food and Five herself. Ingrid was devastated, Leroy seemed disappointed, and Nova wasn’t sure that Phobia or Winston even noticed he was there in the first place. Honey wailed in her room for a couple days (she’d been helping him learn new makeup techniques) but that was nothing new.

She knew, somehow, that he wouldn’t come back to live here, but - she was sure he’d visit. She was his favourite sister, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope u liked it??? klaus gets a cat and that’s the main takeaway here I guess.  
> thank u guys for ur comments last chapter ur keeping me going during online school bc man is it torture lol (shout out to zel for forcing me to do my homework thanks dude)  
> edit: also. listen if u read it before I formatting-fixed it I am so sorry bc it was messed up did not mean to do that and it was Absolutely Hideous


	3. Two Faces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus doesn’t have a place to stay anymore, and winter is closing in fast. He needs a way to make money so he’ll survive until spring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im not happy with this chapter (WHAT is my writing style… i hate it here) but i’ve spent so long (read: like two weeks but time is meaningless to me) trying to write it that i’m just gonna. post it. hope you like it anywyas ✨

It was almost autumn, now, and the cold bit at Klaus’s skin. Ben was walking beside him (a couple inches off the ground) and kept glancing worriedly at him. 

“Klaus, you need to get some warmer clothes.”

Klaus waved his hand dismissively. “No, I’m fine. I’ve been through cold winters before, Benerino. Haven’t died yet.”

Ben snorted. “Actually, you have? Now that we know you can’t, all those times you were fine after spending a night in a crop top, in the snow, with no source of warmth, make sense.”

“Well, look at that! I can’t die, so I don’t need to worry!” Klaus grinned triumphantly at Ben, who just rolled his eyes. 

“Whatever, asshole.”

Klaus didn’t respond, just kept smiling.

_ (Sometimes, when he and Ben began to argue like this, he’d turn to Dave - but he wasn’t there. Hadn’t been there for two and a half weeks. He missed him every second of it, but it was best - was it best? - to not think about it too hard or too much. He wouldn’t be seeing Dave again.) _

He’d left the subway about two weeks ago and had been sleeping in an alley with a dumpster that was pretty much empty (and had clearly been so for awhile) ever since. He almost wanted to go back, but - it didn’t feel right, anymore, to stay somewhere with other people who wouldn’t hurt him, would help him. It was unnerving, it made him shivery. He kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.

He had to watch his words carefully, too; he was sure that if they knew he was really 30, they’d kick him out in a second. 

Then again, he’d never had a real childhood. This was his chance to have people who cared about him, took care of him. He deserved it, they just didn’t have to know who he really was. 

He got back to the dumpster where Cat-Five and a nice, cold can of shitty soup was waiting for him.

Cat-Five, as it turned out, could take care of herself and didn’t need him stealing her stuff. It was a relief, honestly, as without the Anarchists’ help he really wasn’t in a situation where he could provide her with food (Klaus came first, cats came second [well, really, she was farther down the list than that, but whatever]).

Klaus got out the soup can and his pocket-knife with a little can opener. The lid was sharp and hard to get out, and he hissed in pain as it cut his finger. He set down the lid and shook his hand a little before putting it in his mouth.

_ (If Dave were here, he’d help him clean it off, have kind words for him.) _

“Don’t be a baby, Klaus, it’s just a little cut. You’ve had worse,” Ben said from his perch on the side of the dumpster.

Well, Klaus hadn’t been going to make a big deal of it, but he was going to  _ now.  _ “But Benny, I’m in  _ paaaain!”  _ He flopped on the hard metal, and honestly, that hurt more than the cut. He took his finger out of his mouth and waved it through Ben’s leg. “Now you have  _ germs  _ on you, what are you going to do?!”

Ben sighed and kicked the same leg through Klaus’s head. “Now you have them back, dumbass.” He smirked a little.

“OH! OH! BEN, HOW COULD YOU? THIS IS BETRAYAL! YOU’VE BETRAYED MY TRUST, YOU ARE NO LONGER MY BROTHER!” Klaus yelped, putting his wrist to his forehead as if he were fainting.

Ben snickered. “Finally! I’m free!”

Klaus gasped and sat up. “Excuse me? Say that to my face!”

Ben opened his mouth, but just then there was a new voice. “Hello? Is anyone back here?”

“Ohh, shit, Klaus, shouldn’t have yelled!” Ben said in a sing-song voice as he smiled smugly and hopped out of the dumpster.

“Shut the fuck up, Ben, it was your fault anyways,” Klaus muttered, ignoring Ben’s raised eyebrows, “Hello, yes, I’m over here! Do you need something?”

If he was lucky, they’d give him some money. He just needed to play up the  _ poor homeless child  _ act. (Did he remember how to act like a kid? He couldn’t remember ever feeling like how kids were apparently supposed to feel, based on books he’d read. Being surrounded by corpses that screamed for your help 24/7/365 would do that to you, apparently.)

A face peeked over the edge of the dumpster. She looked younger than him (but older than his body), maybe 17 or 18. 

“I, uh, I heard shouting? Do you need help?”

Ah. This was new. People where he was from didn’t give a second glance to kids in dumpsters - not in neighborhoods like this. “No, my stupid brother was just being a dumbass.”

She looked around subtly. “Where, um, is your, your brother?”

If she thought he was a little of a basket case, that would probably make her more sympathetic. He pointed to where Ben was standing outside of the dumpster.

“Oh. Is he, is he, is he invisible, then?” It seemed like maybe she had a bit of a stutter, or something. 

“No. He’s dead.”

She swallowed visibly, bobbing her head a little. “Oh, that, uh, that, that sucks. Sorry to him. Sorry, dumpster kid’s brother.” She gave a little wave to where Ben was standing.

This was - unexpected. He could tell Ben was surprised too. “Yeah, kinda does suck, but mostly cause I’m stuck with this dumbass of a sibling.” 

Klaus squwacked and hopped up onto the edge of the dumpster to swipe his hands through Ben’s chest. “You’re so cruel to me, Ben!” He turned to the girl and said, “He says to say that yeah, it sucks, but at least he’s got me!” He grinned at her.

“Yeah, I have, um, I have siblings and I doubt that’s, that’s, that’s what he said,” she said with a little snort. 

“Teaming up on me? Unfair! How could you!”

She laughed a little, a surprising laugh for someone so small - loud and wild. Klaus giggled along with her.

“Well, I’m fine, except - I am a little hungry.” Hopefully, hopefully she’d give him a little something. 

“Oh.” She looked sad now. “You could, you could come to our house for dinner. My mom wouldn’t, wouldn’t, um, she wouldn’t mind.”

He didn’t want to go to someone’s house. Experience had taught him that that was almost never a good idea, when you were living on the streets in the places he did. Maybe she’d still give him something, if he played his cards right. “Sorry, I don’t… I don’t really go to people’s houses these days. Maybe, though,” and he had to do it  _ just right  _ here; he scuffed his foot against the side of the dumpster and looked down shyly, “You could bring leftovers?”

Her face softened. “Yeah, yeah, I think I can. Will you, um, still be here?”

_ Yes!  _ “Yeah. Thank you so much.” He’d done it perfectly. 

She gave him a slightly sad smile. “I’ll be, I’ll be back tonight. Stay safe, dumpster kid.”

***

Her name turned out to be Aida, and she brought him something to eat every Friday. People here were, apparently, a lot nicer than they’d been back home. 

Though that might be because he looked like a kid, and didn’t look like an addict. Probably that. There didn’t seem to be as many homeless people here, which he guessed had something to do with their bizarre government. 

After about another month, he started going back to the subway. Nova was pretty happy to see him, Ingrid was pretty happy to see Cat-Five, and Klaus was pretty happy to see Nova (also Honey’s dresses).

He spent every weekend there, but he was losing a lot of weight, and winter was really setting in, and he had nothing at all to keep him warm.  _ (Dave would’ve hugged him, kept him warm. But he’s cold and dead, dead, dead, and so far away-)  _ He needed a way to get money, because he wasn’t going to live here full time.

Nova, luckily, had an idea for him. 

“Well, if you  _ really _ don’t want to stay here, then you could use your tarot cards.”

Klaus still didn’t really know how the fuck to read the cards, but he  _ was _ pretty sure they were sentient or something, so it didn’t matter. He stole one of Honey’s eyeliner pens (she wasn’t really mad, he did it every week, but she had to  _ pretend  _ to be; he always returned them anyway) and found an old box. 

He carried the box (which, really, was huge) to a nice street corner closer to downtown and set in an alleyway nearby; wouldn’t do for someone to throw it away while he was looking for the other stuff. 

First, he had to find something to write on the box with. Then, he had to find something to sit on. That was really it, but he wanted to stay out of sight, so it might be harder. 

Klaus darted between dumpsters in a whole bunch of alleys, avoiding anyone who came by with the practiced ease of more than a decade. It  _ might’ve  _ also helped that Ben kept lookout for him. Mostly Klaus, though, for sure. 

He finally found a mostly-empty can of neon blue spray paint and a more full can of black behind a building that had obviously recently been graffitied with this very same paint. (He should probably go before someone saw him.)

It was easier finding something to sit on - a surprisingly clean wooden crate that looked like someone’s spot to sit on break outside of what looked like maybe a grocery store. He set the paint inside of the box and carried both - his twelve-year-old arms were skinny, but strong, and it wasn’t hard at all. 

Klaus had developed a  _ wonderful  _ sense of direction during his years on the streets, and it looked like it hadn’t gone away. He was able to find the alley with his box again easily, this time even better at dodging people. 

He shook the black paint can, biting his lip, and sprayed the whole box except for the bottom - he ran out of paint before he could finish that. With the blue, he wrote  _ TAROT CARD READINGS  _ (he’d decided that ‘reading’ was the word he’d use for what he did) in big letters on the front, and then smaller,  _ From your favorite psychic child! _

People here didn’t know who he was, but he was going to put favorite anyways, sue him. Ben gave him an unimpressed look. “Favorite psychic child? That’s stupid, and also bullshit. You’re not a kid, you’re a grown-ass adult.”

“Shut up, Ben!” Klaus yelled, before blowing a kiss at his brother. “Said with love!”

Ben snorted, like he always did, and leaned against the dirty brick wall of the alley. “Whatever, at least you’re sober for once.”

That was true. Klaus had been sober for - god, had it really been three and a half months? (His own sense of time was fucked, but Ben was good at keeping track.) He couldn’t even summon Dave here, what was the point? 

( _ Except, maybe, if he had enough power - he could go across timelines, pluck the man he loved from the gray landscape he must be in, bring him back - and maybe that was why he was staying sober. No one could prove that, though, as long as it stayed in his head. Dreams couldn’t get smashed if they never saw the light of day.) _

“Ugh,  _ at least?  _ You say that like it’s  _ good.”  _ He dramatically shivered and stuck out his tongue at Ben before laughing. Ben smiled a little too. 

“Well, Bennerino, what do you say we set up the shop of our  _ favorite psychic child?”  _ He wiggled his eyebrows at Ben and picked up the box and crate, leaving the cans of spray paint on the ground. Ben followed (of course he did; it was the one thing that Klaus could count on: Ben would be there with him) and finally, Klaus put down the huge box, sat down, and set his elbows on the makeshift table.

He grabbed out the cards and started to shuffle them with a showy bit of telekinesis that he’d taught himself when he was really bored in the subway - he couldn’t shuffle well with only one arm, after all. 

At first, people mostly just eyed him, but eventually some kid scampered away from his parents over to Klaus.

Klaus spread his hands, exposing the  _ HELLO/GOODBYE  _ tattoos written there. The cards kept shuffling back and forth. “So you want to know your fortune, huh?” He smiled lazily.

The kid nodded, hair flopping over his eyes. 

“Ok. I just need you to think about what you need advice on, okay?” Klaus didn’t actually know if that was right for tarot card readings, but it seemed to work for his, so he’d do it. Sue him.

The kid bit his lip and fidgeted with his hands wrapped in his long, blue shirt. He nodded again, still not really looking at Klaus. 

Klaus grabbed a card from the shifting deck and set it face-up on the table. The rest of the cards just kept moving; actually, Klaus was pretty proud of that. The level of control required was pretty big, but he’d gotten good at it really fast. It felt like a nice  _ Fuck you, Dad!  _ that he wasn’t really failing, he was  _ embracing  _ his powers.

All it took was being able to push the ghosts away (and having someone who loved him, who loved him and  _ died  _ and he - ). 

Klaus felt bitterness rise inside him but turned back to the task at hand. 

The cards were -  _ always -  _ people he knew. It was unnerving. That was how he knew they were from the girl on the bike - those people weren’t here. 

This time, it was a very young Vanya, separated from the rest of them and looking over longingly. As it always was with the cards, he got a strange but not unpleasant prompting that helped guide his interpretation.

At the bottom of the card was the word  LONELY in some language that wasn’t English or any of the other 8 languages he could read (there were  _ so many  _ more that he could speak but not read), but - he  _ could  _ read it. It was weird, but he didn’t care enough to figure it out. 

The gentle, foreign presence of the cards’ thoughts pressed against his consciousness. It probably wasn’t actually the cards, but it sure  _ felt  _ like it.

_ Making friends, why didn’t you like her, what should she have done, she liked you, why didn’t you try to make fri- _

Klaus cut it off again. He had enough of an idea to give the kid some advice.

“Sounds like you’re a little lonely, huh? Maybe people aren’t really making friends with you?” Klaus made sure to sound gentle and not  _ teasing,  _ God forbid, he didn’t want to hurt the kid’s feelings. 

The kid in question nodded in response to Klaus’s questions. Klaus’s card-prompted questions were never wrong, which was pretty fucking neat if he was being honest. 

“I think you need to put yourself out there a little more. Try talking to someone. If that seems hard, try standing with the other kids or responding when they say something. Show them how much fun you can be! They want to be around you, they just don’t know you very well.” 

The kid gave him a tiny, nervous smile, pushed a five dollar bill to him, and ran off through the crowded sidewalk (probably back to the parents that Klaus had seen before).

His business was a success(?).

After the kid, there were only a few more people who came. It was  _ possible  _ that  _ maybe  _ people had been a bit put off by him talking to thin air but what  _ else  _ was he supposed to do? Sitting there was  _ way too boring.  _

It got him enough money, though, to buy him a thick fleece blanket. It wasn’t very big, but it was 100% more than he’d had before (and also for the first few years after leaving the Academy; he hadn’t had a blanket of his own after trading the one he stole from Dad). 

Once, a long, long time ago, he might’ve worried about getting it dirty.

He couldn’t remember a time like that.

He curled up on the bottom of his dumpster, his head resting on a ratty folded-up shirt, and tucked the soft blanket around himself. Cold seeped up from underneath, but it was so much better than before. (Being sober kind of fucking sucked, actually. He couldn’t remember feeling this cold back in his world, mostly because he couldn’t remember too much of anything at all.)

_ (It was worth it for Dave, if he could see Dave again then anything would be worth it.) _

When he woke up in the morning, he could feel his fingers and his toes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol originally i kept forgetting dave so any mentions of him might sound a lil out of place haha  
> anyways (if there’s anyone reading this?? feel like im shouting into the void here) u may have noticed that chapter count is now at 5. the story won’t be done!!! i’m just putting it into a series which will be several 1-5 chapter installments. next up is something i’m reeally excited for both in this story and the series :)  
> anyways if u enjoyed this please please leave a comment i am NOT above begging. they keep me writing and stuff. literllly even if its just like one heart. it means a lot to me :) (this isn’t to say i won’t keep writing this trash fire of a fic if u don’t comment. i’ll just like probably write faster if i know u all are enjoying it)  
> sorry this note was long!! come say hi on tumblr i’m crystalrainwing. if u send asks abt this story i will be in ur debt forever <3


	4. Take Him Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrian (as the Sentinel, of course) goes down to the Anarchist tunnels. What he finds causes quite a disaster back at Renegade headquarters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sure has been a month huh,, sorry  
> finally we meet up with canon  
> this chapter Completely got away from me. this wasn’t how it was supposed to go and it was supposed to be 1.5k words shorter. hope it’s still good :P  
> ok! so this is where things get Bad for klaus. before now i've held my pain cards for him but i went all out here. i'll put some warnings here and spoilery ones in the end notes! please check them if you feel you need to ok. also if i missed anything that should be warned for PLEASE tell me!!! please please please. or if i'm ever offensive to anyone or group of people. leave a comment or you can send an ask to crystalrainwing on tumblr if you want to stay anonymous.  
> warnings for: abuse of power and threatening to kill someone (it's That scene, the one where they raid the tunnels), adrian blaming himself for things that aren't his fault, the weird jail cells in the renegade headquarters and adrian's thoughts on that a little, blood and violence, klaus having a bit of a flashback but that's not really described?, references to past character injury  
> chapter summary at the end if you don't want to read it :)

Adrian would never admit it, but it took awhile to actually find the right tunnels. The subway was massive and sprawling, and though some tunnels were collapsed, there were many more that were completely clear.

In the end, what led him in the right direction was the shaking that he could easily pin as Aftershock’s earthquakes. Then, as he got closer, the cracks in the ground showed him the way. This seemed - unnecessary, to destroy these people’s homes. They were awful people, but the Renegades were no better if they ruined without reason. 

Finally, he was close enough to hear voices - sounded like Frostbite.  _ God, she was annoying - oops, what was she saying?  _ He shook his head and concentrated. “At the parade today, and… -rest you, but we’ll be a bit… it. Or do nothing. What do… kill you first? The… or the suffocation? I’d… the latter, myself.” Her voice was too warped and quiet to make out sometimes, but what he’d heard… was she threatening to  _ kill  _ one of the Anarchists? By… suffocation?

He felt sick. 

This couldn’t go on - he had to make his entrance. 

Adrian clenched his hands into fists and gritted his teeth, letting the flames loose into reality. They felt wild and hot, but nothing could burn him through this armor. He let the fire dissolve the ice stretching between Frostbite and who he could now see was the Detonator.  _ Holy shit, she was  _ actually _ going to kill her. _

The other Anarchists lay on the ground uncomfortably, no doubt from Stingray’s venom. Aftershock stood to the side, and Gargoyle was -

Gargoyle was standing over a pile of what looked like crushed beehives, maybe. Adrian had only seen pictures of beehives, but it made sense; there was that one Anarchist that could mind control bees (and maybe wasps too?). Queen Bee. 

But that wasn’t - that wasn’t the worst of it. Gargoyle was holding what looked like a kid, upside down and swinging slightly side to side. The kid’s face was red and they were trying to free their feet from the stony grasp, but their hands scrabbled uselessly on unforgiving rock.

The Detonator was staring at him, and after a second, so was the kid. “Oh my god, please make him fucking  _ put me down _ , I’m not an Anarchist! I - I just come here for food every once in a while, sometimes Honey lets me borrow a dress!”

Before Adrian could say anything, Gargoyle gave them another shake. Even from here, Adrian could hear the whimper they let out. “You attacked Ray. I can’t just let you  _ walk out  _ of here, can I?” He smiled nastily. 

“It was self defense! A - a reflex! I didn’t mean to! Jesus, let go, you’re going to rip my fucking pants!” They sounded both desperate and irritated as they leaned up again to pull uselessly at Gargoyle’s fingers.

“He’s telling the truth, you know.” Adrian startled slightly and turned to the Detonator, who despite her predicament seemed calm. “He’s not an Anarchist, and he doesn’t have great control over his powers.”

Adrian wouldn’t have needed convincing but… they had attacked a Renegade, and Frostbite’s team was vicious. They wouldn’t let the kid say it was self defense. “If he attacked a Renegade...”

Detonator gave him a sharp smile. “Saving the day, huh? The world will be so much safer with Four out of the way. A real threat, that one.”  _ Four of who? What? _

“These people might be criminals, but I don’t think the council would approve of this… treatment, do you?”

At this, unease flickered across Frostbite’s face. “You’re not a Renegade, no matter what your little outfit says. You can’t say anything to the Council.”

Adrian smiled sharply, even if they couldn’t see it. “Can’t I?”

Her face smoothed back into cruel confidence. “No, you can’t. I saw what they said on the news, the  _ Sentinel  _ isn’t one of us.”

_ Damn, that was fast. One day and I’m already an enemy.  _ “Or maybe you’re just too low on the pay grade to know everything the Council is working on.”

This time, the nervousness stayed on her face. “They’d say - something.”

Adrian raised an eyebrow, then realized they couldn’t actually see that. “Do you know them just  _ so _ well,  _ Frostbite?  _ You know nothing about my orders, but I know yours: find out whether any other Anarchists were involved in the Puppeteer’s attack, and to find out if they’re connected to Nightmare. Doesn’t seem like you’ve learned much at all.”

He leaped up onto the platform that held Frostbite and the Detonator. The feeling of soaring through the air thanks to the springs on his feet was still exhilarating - and a little scary. The rest of Frostbite’s team stepped into defensive positions, which both hurt and exhilarated him. 

“Release the Detonator, and you’re free to go.” He glanced at Gargoyle, still holding the panicked kid upside down - his face was getting red, that couldn’t be good. “You can take your little prisoner, but try not to kill him by holding him like that too long. I’m taking over this investigation.”

Frostbite bared her teeth and shoved an icy dagger into the ground. “If the Council really wanted to have  _ you  _ take over, I think they’d tell us.”

_ Oh, shit, uh…  _ “They did. Didn’t you get the message? Or is the reception that bad? Too bad, you could’ve saved yourself this… embarrassment. If you go now, and leave me alone, I won’t tell your superiors about this breach of code.”

Frostbite glanced at him with venom in her eyes, before turning to go and gesturing to the rest of her team to go. “Whatever. Not like you’ll learn anything more than us.”

“Release the Detonator.”  _ God, the nerve of some people…  _

“Release her yourself,” Frostbite said snarkily. Adrian kind of wanted to shove her, she was so  _ goddamn  _ annoying. 

“Hey, don’t, just leave me here -  _ ow, fuck, I’m fragile, be careful -  _ or drop me off anywhere! I’m not an Anarchist - I read fortunes in the alley by the lightbulb place, ask anyone! ” Adrian felt a pang of guilt leaving the kid in their hands, but there wasn’t really anything he could do - and they  _ had  _ attacked a Renegade. 

It was more important that he get information about Nightmare. She’d - she’d tried to kill his dad, and maybe knew something about his mom’s death. He had to find her. 

Eventually, the sounds of Frostbite’s team, mostly Aftershock’s loud steps and the kid’s complaints that they were  _ precious cargo, be careful, dumbass,  _ faded out and he freed the Detonator and began to question the Anarchists. 

He’d check on the kid when he got back to HQ. It’d be fine. 

***

He hadn’t learned  _ anything.  _ The damn Anarchists hadn’t said anything helpful at all. He was sure, totally sure, that Nightmare was one of them, but they pretended she wasn’t.

He headed to the infirmary, wanting to visit Danna again. Adrian felt horribly guilty over what had happened to her, and after the trainwreck of an interrogation it would be nice to see his friends. 

As he expected, Ruby and Oscar were already there, but it was unexpected how they both scrambled to meet him. 

“Aw, missed me, didn’t you?” Adrian said teasingly. 

“Oh, did I  _ ever,”  _ Oscar said, wiggling his eyebrows. Ruby hit his arm playfully, and he stuck out his tongue at her. 

“Actually, we wanted to ask if you could, uh, ask your dads if it’s okay if we talk to one of the prisoners,” Ruby said a little nervously.

“What? Why?” This was not - something he’d expected at all, why did they want to see prisoners?

“Uh, so, okay, do you remember when we told you about the time we fought Nightmare and she grabbed that kid? And then we couldn’t find them, and we thought they were probably dead?”

“Yeah, uh, but what does that have to do with anything? Wasn’t that, like, 6 or 7 months ago?” That had been a real sore spot for them, and usually they wouldn’t bring it up. 

“Yeah, but today, after the raid on the Anarchist’s hideout -  _ which, apparently, the Sentinel ruined, Frostbite was furious -  _ Gargoyle brought in this kid, and  _ it was the kid!”  _ Ruby said, wildly gesturing with her hands. 

_ Oh, shit.  _ “A kid? How dangerous could they be?”  _ Also, shit, have I been using the wrong pronouns this whole time? I need to be more careful, goddamn. Poor kid. Well, but the Detonator called the kid he. And she probably knows better. I’ll just - check when we talk to them.  _

“I don’t think they are, I think that Frostbite’s team are just bullies.” 

Fair enough. “Yeah, let’s go talk to my dads. If we explain, they’ll totally let us talk to them.” He sent a quick message to them, asking to meet in the lounge. “We can go wait in the lounge, play some games until they get there.”

Ruby and Oscar agreed and followed him up to the lounge, immediately going off to play their favourite game. Some things never change, apparently. It was strangely comforting to Adrian. He sketched them while they all waited, trying to capture their movement and laughter in a still image. 

Eventually, though he wasn’t sure quite how long it had been, he got a message from Simon. 

_ on our way xoxo  _

“Hey! Ruby, Oscar, they’re gonna be here in a minute, finish up your game and come over here.” Oscar threw up a hand in acknowledgement before going back to the game. After a couple minutes, Adrian could hear his loud yelp of victory. He grabbed his cane and walked smugly back to the couch, Ruby trailing behind slightly. 

“D’you really think they’re gonna let us talk to the kid?” Ruby asked, twisting some of her black-and-white hair nervously. 

Adrian swallowed. He kept feeling guilty for letting the kid get caught, but it wasn’t really his fault, right? If he hadn’t come, it would’ve been worse. So really, he’d helped. It didn’t make him feel any better thinking that. “Yeah, probably. I mean, we can explain why and stuff, plus they’re pretty young right? So they probably aren’t going to be staying in the… uh, jail thing.” He never was sure what to refer to the cells as; people called them a lot of different things. 

“Fair enough,” she replied, sounding a bit more sure now. 

“Uh, we might have to wait til tomorrow, though? It’s the middle of the night, guys,” Oscar said, pointing out the massive wall-to-wall windows where all that was visible was a black void. 

“Ah,” Adrian said, eloquently. 

Oscar snorted a little laugh, and Ruby did the same a couple seconds later. “Yeah. Did you forget that?”

Adrian didn’t say anything, but he could feel his face heating up. Luckily, it was at that moment that his dads came in - the room got instantly quiet before going back to the low buzz it was before. 

“Adrian! Hey! What’d you want to talk about?” Simon said when he reached them, bouncing on his heels energetically. Hugh watched with a soft smile on his face. 

_ They aren’t gonna like this.  _

“Uh, I’ll let Ruby explain.”

And so he heard the whole disastrous tale from the beginning. How they’d almost caught Nightmare, how a portal had opened above them and a child had tumbled out and Nightmare had grabbed them. 

How she hadn’t let them go, stumbling off with the child held tight to her chest, and a knife to their throat.

How they hadn’t seen the kid again, and thought they were dead - until tonight, when they were brought in from a raid on the Anarchist base. 

“What did the kid look like?” Simon said. His normally open face was blank, which made Adrian more nervous than he would feel if Simon looked angry, or sad, or disappointed or anything else.

“Um, they were kind of tall, pretty skinny, I think, brown, curly hair? Wearing some weird clothes, too, they looked way too big. Kind of, I don’t know, sassy?” Ruby said nervously.

“Fuck. Fuck! Hugh, that’s - I think that’s the fortune reader kid!” Simon said, horror dawning on his face. He was flickering in and out of visibility, which Adrian had only seen happen a couple times - usually when someone died, or something else really horrible happened. 

_ “I’m not an Anarchist - I read fortunes in the alley by the lightbulb place, ask anyone!” _

Adrian felt sick (apparently, that was a theme for tonight; if only he hadn’t made so many mistakes...). He’d heard of the kid - the kid who’d saved lives, relationships, and found a thousand lost things. They were whispered about among the Renegades, the few who’d seen them, at least. 

Always told as having messy, curly brown hair - colorful, bizarre clothes - talking to thin air  _ (or maybe, someone the rest of them just couldn’t see) -  _ haunted, shadowed eyes with dark circles underneath - saying something too knowing to be coincidence, and something that would come true. Cards resting on the top of his box, strange illustrations and words that twisted in a language no one knew, and comparing notes some had discovered that the people on the cards were the same from person to person (Adrian didn’t know of any except for a light- and curly-haired man, who most often was shown with someone else and with a terrible wound, but apparently there were 10 or more repeating, mysterious figures). A number for a name. Four. 

_ “The world will be so much safer with Four out of the way.” _

He’d let the fortune-teller kid be captured by the worst, the cruelest of the Renegade teams. He had stood there as a child fought to escape, as Gargoyle shook them and laughed at their fear. Even - even if it  _ weren’t _ someone he knew of, he’d let that happen. What kind of Renegade was he?

Simon whirled around and sprinted out, Hugh saying a rushed, “Come on, follow us!” before following him. Adrian glanced at Oscar and Ruby, the first looking bewildered and the second determined, and ran after his dads. He could hear his teammates following behind.

They skipped the elevator and instead ran down the stairs, taking them 3 at a time - except Oscar, whose bones wouldn’t be able to handle that, and he instead found an empty elevator to head down on. 

When they’d gone down a few floors, Adrian and Ruby reached the door to the cells area. In the past he’d never seen the door open, but it was open now, wide and dark and ominous. Two Renegades stood outside, keeping watch. Hugh and Simon must already be inside.

The cells were on three middle floors, and the massive windows and old walls had all been replaced with thick concrete and which created a smaller floor than the others, but it was basically impenetrable. 

Adrian had never seen this area before, so he took a moment to look at the cells at the front that were empty, light flowing into them from the open door.

Each individual cell was pretty decently sized, somewhere around 15 by 40 feet if Adrian was guessing right, each one with a bolted-down bed, a chair, a small and also bolted-down table, and a small rug. The doors were thick metal with a grate that was big enough to see through, but not big enough to fit anything larger than a finger through each hole. 

It was night, so the only light was from dim red bulbs set every 50ish feet which created pockets of darkness in between. 

At first, it was easy to follow his dads - he could hear their footsteps ahead. Once they’d gone a level down, though, that became impossible.

As Adrian jogged through the halls, Ruby a few steps behind, the prisoners yelled at them - some asking to be freed, some threatening, and some asking for a book or another item. The noise was deafening and they were now going essentially blindly into the darkness - no footsteps to follow and barely any light.

After a while Adrian stopped and turned to Ruby - this wasn’t going to work.

“We should wait here and Hugh will come get us when they find him.” 

Ruby bent over, hands on her knees, panting, but nodded agreement. Adrian slid down against the wall and sat down, resting his head on the cool concrete. It’d been awhile since either of them had run like this, and Adrian could feel the consequences of not keeping up with running training after he passed the yearly health exam.

After the stone had leached away his extra heat, he found that it was very cold - especially when his skin was still slightly damp with sweat. Ruby was shivering too, and he looked at her and raised his eyebrows. 

She rolled her eyes and sat down next to him, close enough that their shoulders were touching, the two of them sharing the barest bit of warmth in the cold red light as voices screamed all around them.

***

Oscar came at some point, silently sitting next to Ruby and putting an arm around her shoulder with a little eyebrow wiggle. Adrian wasn’t sure how long they sat there. It was hard to judge time here; he couldn’t imagine having to spend a life sentence but at least the prisoners had clocks. Hopefully, they were allowed outside sometimes. He’d never thought about the people here before, and how their lives must be. He’d ask if they could give some books to the better-behaved prisoners after this was over. 

Hugh came, gesturing for them to follow him - if he’d tried to talk, they wouldn’t have heard him. He looked more serious than Adrian usually saw him anywhere but on TV.

The halls seemed endless and the light made him dizzy, the unknown voices around him setting him off-balance too. Finally, they made it to a quieter hall, the only sound being the echoes of the distant yelling and their own footsteps. Simon was pacing agitatedly outside of a door, but he had at least waited for them.

“He’s in here, I think. That’s what the card says, anyways. I can’t see him in there. We need to open the door,” Simon said, his voice anxious.

“Ok, but we need to be careful, alright? I’ll go in first, just in case,” Hugh said gently. He pressed a hand to some sort of sensor on the side of the door before unlocking three locks on the door with actual keys. The door swung inwards. Hugh stepped in.

“He’s in here, alright.” His voice sounded - strange.

Adrian followed him into the room, the rest following close behind. 

There, in the corner, under the rug. It didn’t cover them fully, but from what he could see of their head it was definitely the same kid. They were curled tightly, on their side, hands over their ears and pulling at their dirty, curly brown hair. Simon crouched down next to them.

“Hey, kiddo.” His voice was soft as he spoke to them. “It’s okay. We’re gonna get you out of here.”

They didn’t so much as twitch. Simon gently reached down to lift up the rug a little, maybe they were sleeping? 

That proved to be a mistake.

Four let out a panicked whine and scrambled out from under the rug and away from Simon’s hands. They seemed to spot the open door in the same moment that Adrian realized that no one was blocking it and they bolted out faster than anyone could stop them. 

The rest of them rushed out of the room, skidding on the slippery-smooth concrete. 

“Hey! HEY! Four! Come back!” Simon yelped desperately, already setting off after them. 

There was the sound of shattering glass, and the hallway went dark, every dull red light bulb broken in an instant. 

Suddenly, Adrian understood why Four was a threat. 

Emergency lights flicked on just a moment afterward, bright white light that had Adrian blind for a good couple seconds. When he blinked the spots out of his vision, it seemed that the same had happened to the rest of the group - each standing where they had been except Simon, who must have still been running and slipped on the broken glass. 

He sat up with a hiss, Hugh immediately crouching next to him. “Oh, Simon, your hands are all cut up.” 

“Yeah, yeah, it’s alright. We need to find Four before he does any more damage,” Simon said with a wince, looking mournfully at his slightly-bleeding palms. 

Hugh seemed to consider something for a moment before turning to Adrian, Ruby and Oscar. “You guys go find him. I’ll help Simon. He’ll probably be less scared if it’s you guys since you’re still kids.”

Adrian wanted to say that he wasn’t a kid anymore, but now really wasn’t the time. He just nodded and set off down the long corridor, going slowly over the patches of glass so that he didn’t slip. Oscar and Ruby followed behind, walking instead of jogging.

At the end of the hall Adrian saw the first footprint. 

Still-wet blood showed the vague shape of a small, bare foot. They must’ve run through the glass. 

It was awful to imagine, so Adrian tried not to think about it and instead focused on following the patchy trail until he could find Four and help fix their cuts. 

There weren’t many places to hide here, unless you had some really powerful telekinesis. Unless you could pull the doors from their hinges easily. 

Before now, the only prodigy powerful enough to do such a thing had been Ace Anarchy himself, but if the screeching of metal up ahead was anything to go by that wasn’t true anymore. This floor was empty, at least, the only full level being the middle for some reason. 

As he rounded a corner, he found that the whole hallway had been decimated - rock from the walls littered the ground in chunks that came up past Adrian’s knees and doors thrown aside and bent as if a bomb had gone off behind them.

Four was nowhere in sight and the emergency lightbulbs here were shattered, leaving the end of the hall in deep darkness. 

Adrian had just begun to climb carefully over the rocks and towards the back of the corridor when a strange, blue light washed over the ground around him. Turning around, he saw a boy waving his hands to get Adrian’s attention. He was definitely the source of the light as his whole body glowed blue. 

He was wearing some kind of jacket and looked pretty young. “Hey! Hey! My sibling’s down there and they’re going to kill him if you can’t help him!” Panic lit up his eyes and his features as he talked. 

“Is your sibling Four? Who’s going to kill them? Where are they? I can’t see with no light and all the rooms are dark.”

The boy grumbled something under his breath and started off over the rocks with surprising ease. Who was this guy? 

Adrian followed him. What other choice did he have?

The only light as they got farther back was the boy’s faint glow, barely reaching Adrian a few feet behind. 

Finally, finally, the boy stopped and pointed into a room that, now that Adrian looked, was giving off a similar light. He stepped inside. 

At first Adrian couldn’t even see Four. Figures packed tightly together around - something, each one talking or crying or screaming. The noise was awful and for some reason couldn’t be heard outside the room. 

“Four! Four! Where are you?!” Adrian yelled, trying to be heard over the clamor. When he stopped, he realized that many of the strange people were also saying Four’s name. 

_ They must be in the middle of the crowd.  _

These were the ones that would kill Four if he couldn’t save them. 

Adrian quickly pulled up his sleeves and let out a burst of fire, which when it touched one of the monsters seemed to make it dissolve into blue dust for a moment. 

With a path cleared, he could see Four. 

The kid was curled up, arms covering their face, looking impossibly small for someone so tall. Scratches littered their pale skin, apparently from the vicious spectres standing around them. On the other side where Adrian hadn’t dissolved them, more continued to attack. 

It was - it was awful. 

_ This is your fault. You could’ve saved them.  _

No. It was Frostbite’s team’s fault, and he would save them now. 

Adrian stood over the still child and let his flames loose all around. When all the monsters were gone, he dropped down and carefully tried to drape his own jacket over them - their clothes were shredded, barely holding together and stained with blood.

When the cloth hit them, they whimpered. “Please… please stop…” they said quietly, but their voice sounded hopeless and their voice broke. 

Adrian felt like he was going to pass out. This was worse than he could’ve imagined, bringing back images of Danna yesterday, burnt and screaming and it was  _ his fault. _

He could help Four.

“It’s okay. They’re gone, you’re okay.” They weren’t okay, but they were alive, at least. The boy from earlier flickered back into view on the other side of Four, their brother, apparently? He wasn’t hurting them so maybe not all the glowing people were bad. 

Who were they?

“Hey, hey, you need to calm down. Now. Kl- Four, you need to  _ calm the fuck down  _ and get control over the ghosts again. They aren’t going to leave until you do,” the boy said, his eyes burning with intensity. 

_ Ghosts.  _

Was his mom here? 

Adrian decided not to think about it. 

Four uncurled. They sat up, facing away from Adrian, and formed bleeding hands into fists that glowed blue for a moment. 

They sighed in relief. 

“Thanks, Ben. That could’ve gotten nasty.”

The boy - Ben - replied with a far-too-casual snort. “It did get nasty, dipshit. Plus, it wasn’t the Horror that got rid of them. It was the random kid I found.”

A little weird that the younger boy was calling  _ him  _ a kid, but okay. Oh, wait, Ben was a ghost. Maybe he was older than he looked. 

His thoughts were cut short when Four turned to him with wide eyes and blood dripping down their face, their chest, their legs. “Well, thanks, dude,” they said with a little breath, smiling at Adrian. 

“Uh - anytime. What the hell was that?” 

Four waved their hands at the area around them, HELLO GOOD BYE in dark ink on their palms. “Ghosts. They’re everywhere but only I can see ‘em. Persistent little fuckers.”

Just then, he heard Ruby and Oscar nearby, shouting for him. “In here!” Adrian yelled back. 

He was going to have to explain - this. Oh shit, and to his dads as well. 

This was going to be a long night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok! so more in depth warnings: klaus gets heckin ATTACKEd by the ghosts after panicking when simon touches him, trying to see if he's awake. it's not nice. also he cuts up his feet on glass and so does simon.  
> chapter summary: adrian goes to the tunnels where klaus had accidentally thrown a rock at one of the renegades due to reflexes. gargoyle captures him, and takes him back the jail thing. ruby and oscar recognize him, so does simon, they all + hugh go down and try to find him but he panics and takes off. simon got a little hurt so hugh stays with him, ruby and oscar are walking because oscar has bone problems. ben tells adrian to go find klaus and he does and the ghosts have beaten and scratched him up pretty bad, but adriangets rid of them. pretty much it i think  
> also for clarity: klaus uses he/they and adrian will always be using they for klaus.  
> zel wrote this in the google docs i feel obligated to include it sorry:  
> And after they saved four they gave him a nice place to live and became the best of friends :)) but four kept reading fortunes cause that’s fun and he likes doing it :)) Everyone stays safe and they all live happily ever after :))) MY BABIES WILL LIVE AHAHAH UGLY!!!!
> 
> hope u enjoy <3 comment to feed my withering soul

**Author's Note:**

> title/chapter title are from goner by twenty one pilots :)  
> happy birthday umbrella kids :)


End file.
